Looking back...Primetime Ratings from the 80's

[Paul Raven]

Those moves only benefited LA Law. 

Hill St was already on the way out and Crime Story didn't flourish despite a more favorable time slot.

[kalbir]

L.A. Law took off with the move to Thursday 10 pm. I love that L.A. Law first Thursday episode was Jeanne Cooper first appearance as Gladys Becker. I see what you did there NBC, you're not fooling me.

[Soapsuds]

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The rest for that week.

 

[Paul Raven]

NBC looking like ABC in the 60's.

But the A Team was on the horizon giving NBC its first Top 10 show since Little House.

But they would have to wait until 84 for Cosby to really turn things around.

I'm sure CBS knew that their Sunday success with aging sitcoms wasn't going to last forever but they were in a bind as to how to set up for the future. Any movement of those shows didn't work -see Alice.

And bringing in Gloria with Sally Struthers seemed to rely on the connection to AITF-hardly the new blood they needed.

And when they tried things like Goodnight Beantown and The Four Seasons,apart from the weakness of the shows themselves, they didn't fit the 70's vibe of the lineup.

So the decision to go with Murder She Wrote and end the sitcom programming was risky but paid off.

[kalbir]

The Cosby Show saved both sitcoms as a genre and NBC primetime line up. The breakout success of The Cosby Show and the breakout success of The Golden Girls the following season lead to NBC having the sitcom game on lock for the rest of the decade.

1982/83 was CBS transition season for sitcoms. M*A*S*H ended; The Jeffersons, Alice, One Day at a Time fell out of the Top 10; and Newhart premiered. CBS would struggle with sitcoms until 1989/90 when Designing Women and Murphy Brown started showing growth.

Edited December 12, 2024 by kalbir

[Khan]

It's no surprise that ODAAT fell out of the Top 10.  By 1982/83, it was hard to tell what the show was about anymore.

[soapfan770]

No love for Alf…?

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(Although it would get bigger in the following season).

Like the 84-85 and 85-86 seasons I do think the 86-87 season was one of the three quintessential seasons 80’s as it had still had a good mix of healthy older and newer hits amongst all three networks. 

At least 3 of the 4 primetime soaps were still decent shape, except for Dynasty which was a mess. Still a top 30 finish though for all four. Hotel ended up being at #42 surprised that it was still edging out St. Elsewhere like that. 

That Thanksgiving 1986 schedule was horrible though. Smokey and the Bandit III really??!? No wonder NBC repeats won the night. 

[kalbir]

@soapfan770 Re: 1986/87, the main new shows I remember that season were Amen, Matlock, L.A. Law, ALF but they weren't exactly breakout hits. ALF and L.A. Law would take off the following season though.

Edited December 19, 2024 by kalbir

[Paul Raven]

It was a low rated night that CBS knew was going to be an NBC win so they slotted a movie that could be promoted as a premiere and save a new Knots Landing episode for later on.

CBS had other more pressing scheduling issues at that point.

[DRW50]

As the Hart to Hart thread is locked:

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Stefanie just steamrolling over the anchors amuses me.

[Paul Raven]

Apart from, I think maybe 3 episodes initially Sat @10, Hart to Hart was one of a few series to only play in one timeslot throughout it's run.

Can we think of any other shows in the 80's that lasted longer than one season but didn't shift slots.

Or played the majority of it's run in one timeslot.

Falcon Crest comes to mind. Fri @10 for 7 seasons apart from the last 4 or 6? Thurs @9.

Dukes of Hazzard, Fri@9, then Fri @8.

And of course Cosby, which didn't move from Thurs @8 for its entire run.

[soapfan770]

Interesting brain teaser for sure. So many 80’s shows would get bumped around either in there first season before settling in or later seasons as they aged.

Hart to Hart had bumped Fantasy Island to Friday nights at 8 but that was short lived after Hart to Hart moved and Fantasy Island returned to its traditional slot for the rest of its run.

Trapper John largely aired on Sundays at 10 until Winter 1986 when CBS began to move the flailing show around all over the schedule. 

Yeah Falcon Crest pretty much aired all its episodes on Friday nights at 10, except for those last 4 episodes CBS burned off on Thursdays at 9. There was also the curious case of the Season 5 season finale (earthquake cliffhanger) airing on a Thursday night @10pm, mainly due to it being last day counted for May sweeps. I don’t know what the ratings were for that. 
 

Knots stayed in the 10PM Thursday slot forever except for a brief move to 9PM early in the 86-87 season 

Other than a brief move to 9:30 its first season, Cheers pretty much ran in the 9:00 Thursday slot from 1983-93. 
 

[Paul Raven]

Knots also played at 9pm in the 1981/82 season.

TJ Hooker Sat @8 for all its run -3 and 1/2 seasons.

Murder She wrote Sun @8 until it was moved in its final season.

[kalbir]

Looking at all the comedies and dramas that premiered on the big three broadcast networks in the 1980s that had runs of 5 or more seasons, The Cosby Show is the only show that did not have a time slot change during its run.

[Khan]

That's incredible!  Even "All in the Family" didn't enjoy that luxury in the '70's.